That Don't Sound Like You
by arm9112
Summary: It had been six months since she left Hope Valley for Hamilton; had left me for Charlie, and I knew he wasn't right for her. But when I saw that number come across my phone, it never crossed my mind not to give her another chance, especially after how hurt she sounded. Rated M for a minor issue. Based on the song by Lee Brice. I'm thinking about expanding the story?


Girl, I'm glad you called

First heard you talk

Took me a second 'cause I couldn't hear your drawl

And that don't sound like you

No, that don't sound like you

I had just gotten home from a shift as a police deputy in Hope Valley. It had been a long day on patrol in this little town. I had actually written a police report for theft of a watermelon. I couldn't deal with anyone else's stupid behavior today, and it was finally someone else's turn. I couldn't wait to stick a pizza in the oven, kick my feet up, and turn on a movie. Just after I had taken off my bulletproof vest, my phone rang. I looked down to see Lee's number on the screen, and I picked it up.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Jack, man, you've gotta go out with us tonight," Lee responded.

Lee was my best friend, but I had to turn him down tonight, just like I had every other Friday and Saturday night for months now.

"I don't think so, Lee. I've worked a long shift, and I have to be up early in the morning for another one," I replied.

"Come on, Jack! We're going to see Kip Moore at a bar downtown, and Rosie has a friend named Faith she wants to set you up with. I hear she is one fine looking woman. Blonde, blue eyes, great body."

"Lee, you know I'm not ready for that. I couldn't see him anyway. Not without her. He was her favorite. I'm just gonna stay home and watch some TV with Rip." I never had to explain to Lee who she was.

"Come on, man. Just one beer."

"No, Lee. Not tonight. I'm tired, and I'm just not up for it tonight."

"Alright, man. Go hang out with your dog and eat your frozen pizza, but you're gonna have to rejoin the land of the living one day."

"Rip and I are doing just fine. I'll be fine," I said sounding barely convincing to myself.

"Alright, but if you change your mind, hit me up."

"Will do," I answered and hung up.

After I changed into my favorite sweatpants, I preheated the oven for the aforementioned frozen pizza. I had just taken out the pizza when my phone rang again. I didn't recognize the number, but I did recognize that area code—it was the Hamilton area code. It had been six months since she accepted his proposal and moved from Hope Valley to Hamilton. Six months since she broke my heart and left it in pieces on the ground. But when I saw that area code, my heart was beating out of my chest, and my breathing got heavier. I had waited six months for her to call; to come back to me, but I couldn't compete with a huge mansion and a place in high society. She couldn't help where she came from, but I thought in the little amount of time she was here, I had swayed her to my way of life out here on the coast. When I finally snapped back to reality, I picked up the phone and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Jack, is that you?" I heard an unfamiliar voice reply. I guess it wasn't her after all.

"Yes, who's this?"

"Jack, it's me, Elizabeth," she responded with absolutely no lilt to her voice, not how I remembered it at all.

"Elizabeth, I'm so glad you called. I'm sorry I didn't recognize your voice. Something seems different about you."

I know it's been a while, I don't mean to pry

But when I asked you if you're happy I didn't hear a smile

And that don't sound like you

Nah, that ain't the girl I knew you always sounded like

"Oh, I hope I'm not bothering you. It's Friday night, and you probably have plans. I'll let you go," she responded with a hint of regret in her tone.

"No, please don't. It's just me and Rip with a pizza and a movie," I replied begging her in my head to stay on the line. I'd waited too long to hear her voice, and I wasn't about to let her go that easily. I didn't like how submissive she sounded. What had he done to her? I had to keep her talking.

"How are you, Elizabeth?" I asked, desperate to hear what I wanted to hear.

"Um, I'm fine. Daddy got me a teaching job at one of the most prestigious high schools in Hamilton, and I've just been really busy with planning this wedding," she replied, but I could tell there was no smile behind her response, and my heart stung at the mention of the word wedding.

"How are your new students? Do you like them?"

"Um, they're nothing like the kids in Hope Valley. They're very entitled, and think I owe them good grades and that they don't have to earn them."

She was right about the kids in Hope Valley. They really appreciated the lessons Elizabeth tried to teach them.

"So, how are you doing, Jack?"

"I won't lie, Elizabeth. It's been tough, and I really miss you. Are you really happy in Hamilton?" I asked, still desperate to hear her say no.

"Who wouldn't be happy?" she responded, but I could hear the uncertainty in her voice. I was always good at deciphering what she was really trying to say with her tone of voice, and it seemed I hadn't lost my touch.

"Elizabeth, you don't sound like you. Are you sure you're okay there? I know you were brought up in that high society life, but you know you loved being here in Hope Valley. Sweetheart, remember the time we put the truck in four wheel drive and drove out on the beach? Remember how fun that day was?"

Truck tires on a gravel road

Laughing at the world, blasting my radio

Cannon ball splashing in the water

Doing whatever whenever you wanted

What did he do?

'Cause you don't sound like you anymore

 _I told Elizabeth I would be at her house to pick her up at 8 that morning, but I was so excited to spend the day with her that I couldn't sleep and I got there a half hour before 8. Of course, I had to wait for her to be ready, but that didn't bother me. It never bothered me that she took extra time because I had all the time in the world for her. When she came out of her bedroom in her floppy black sun hat, short, gauzy sundress, monogrammed sandals, and big sunglasses, I won't lie, my swim trunks shrunk a few sizes, and I couldn't wait to get her out to the beach and into the water. I took her beach bag from her and helped her get into the truck._

 _We had breakfast at a little diner on the way to the coast. I loved that Elizabeth had a stack of pancakes drenched in syrup and a pile of bacon on her plate. A yogurt parfait wasn't enough for her. As we were finishing our meal, I noticed a dot of syrup at the corner of her mouth, so I leaned in and swept my tongue across it and into her mouth for a sweet kiss. The taste of the syrup mixed with her natural flavor was the most delicious thing I had ever tasted. I leaned back and gave her the crooked smile I knew she loved so much and received one of my own._

 _I paid for our breakfast, and we headed for the south end of the beach. When we got to the end of the paved road, I hopped out of the truck and put it in four wheel drive, and we were on our way. We drove for about ten minutes when we got past most of the tourists to our own little piece of paradise. She jumped out of the truck and I unloaded the bed with our cooler of beer, water, and lunch. Elizabeth spread out the huge blanket we always packed for the beach for us to lie on during the day. When she was satisfied with her work, the wind, of course, blew the blanket askew, and I saw the cute pout on her face and handed her the stakes to put down. When the blanket was finally the way she wanted it, she took off her dress, and she was wearing the black monogrammed bikini I loved to see her in. I glanced down at the monogram on her shoes and the one on her top, and I couldn't help looking forward to changing those letters; instead of eTm, one day it would be eTt because I knew I was going to marry this girl._

 _Digging in her huge beach bag, she fished out a bottle of sunscreen and handed it to me knowing I knew what to do. I squirted some in my hand and started with her shoulders and worked my way down her back. While I was lathering her shoulders, I brushed my tongue along her ear, and I felt the goosebumps rise up on her flesh despite the pleasant 75 degrees outside. When I had sufficiently covered her body so her delicate skin wouldn't get burned, I turned on some country music for us to listen to while we hung out on the beach all day._

 _She dug her book out of her Mary Poppins-like bag (she seriously had everything in there) and settled on the blanket. After a while of lying on the blanket, I took the book she was reading and threw it to the side. "Let's go for a swim," I suggested._

" _Just a minute. I have to tie up my hair," she responded. I watched her root around for a hair tie and put it in her long, chestnut curls. I don't know why she bothered because it was going to get wet no matter what she did, but I just shook my head and let her do her thing._

 _When she was ready, we strolled down to the shore line hand in hand. It was just the beginning of May, so the water hadn't had time to warm up yet, but my plan was to warm Elizabeth up myself. No one really came this far down the island, so we were secluded in our own private paradise. As the water rushed over her toes, she let out the sweetest squeal at the chilly waves._

" _Come on, baby, let's get in," I said._

" _No, it's too cold," she responded._

" _Elizabeth Thatcher, get in this water before I throw you in myself."_

" _Never!" she shouted as she ran away from me, but I was faster, and I quickly caught up to her and put my arms around her waist from behind, turned her around, and picked her up, and ran into the water up to my waist and her chest. I leaned in and whispered, "See what you made me do?"_

" _I told you it was too cold. You made yourself do this."_

" _You didn't fight me."_

" _I would never fight you," she said softly as she leaned in and pressed her soft lips to mine._

 _I swept my tongue across her lips, begging for entrance, which she quickly gave, and battled for dominance with her own tongue while the water washed over us. I moved my hands from her thighs and massaged her bottom and moved up her back and around to her front, grabbing her breasts and squeezing them until I felt her breath quicken. She broke away to get some much needed air. When she had sufficient oxygen, she moved her lips back to mine and grinded herself on me causing my lower half to stir. While keeping one hand on her chest, I inched my other hand to her bathing suit bottom and slipped a finger inside quickly finding the spot I knew drove her wild. Her breathing sped up more, and I knew she was trying to be lady-like, so I whispered in her ear, "Let it go, baby. There's nobody here but us. Nobody can hear you."_

 _That earned me a moan, but I knew she had more to give me, so I sped up my ministrations. "Come on, baby. Let me hear how I make you feel," I tried again and that caused her to move back and forth on my hand. I moved my thumb to the little bundle of nerves and rubbed little circles. That did it because she let out a scream she'd be ashamed for anybody but me to hear and wrapped her arms around my neck. I laved attention on her neck as she came down from her high. When her breathing evened out, I walked us back to the blanket to lie down. We napped for a little while as we warmed up in the sunshine._

 _When we woke up later that afternoon, we ate our lunch of sandwiches, chips, and beer. Then I broke out my guitar and serenaded my girl with a few country songs I had been practicing. I knew she would leave me for Kip Moore or Dierks Bentley if given the chance, so I learned "Come a Little Closer" and "Crazy One More Time" just for her, and then I did drive her crazy one more time before we packed up and headed home for the evening. I loved seeing her so happy and free, something she definitely wasn't when she first moved here from Hamilton._

 _She was excited to start her job as an English teacher at Hope Valley High School, but everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Her students were used to teachers staying for a few months and leaving, so they acted like fools for her that first week. She had a flat tire on her first day on the job, and to make matters worse, her washing machine overflowed while she did a load of laundry on her first night in her rental house. We butted heads at first because I had accused her of putting too many things in the washer to break it, but after that rough start, she got a handle on her students and figured out how to live on her own. We got to know each other a little better and put our differences aside, and I took her out on a date and we'd been madly in love ever since._

Your pretty brown hair, you always loved it

Guess he didn't like it so you just cut it

And that don't sound like you

Nah, that ain't the girl I knew you always sounded like

"I do remember that day. It was one of my favorite days we spent together. Charlie doesn't take me to the beach here," she responded as I smiled at the memory of that day on the beach.

"I saw your engagement picture in the paper. Why did you cut your hair, Sweetheart?" I asked remembering how shocked I was that her chestnut hair that hung midway down her back was chopped off to her shoulders. It was like reading about Jo in _Little Women_. I was also shocked about how she was addressed in the caption: Lizzy Thatcher. She hated being called Lizzy. Where did that come from?

"Um, Charlie said he liked it better short, so I just cut it," she replied with a hint of sorrow in her voice.

"Baby, that's not you. You used to spend so long on your hair, making sure it was curled just right. You always loved it."

I needed to make her see that she needed to come back home. She needed to be here with me because I was losing my mind without her and I could tell she was unhappy back in Hamilton. I just needed her to admit it, so I kept her talking.

"Did you go see Dierks Bentley when he was in Hamilton last month?" I asked her. She loved him, so I knew she had to have gone.

"Um, no. Charlie doesn't like concerts so we just didn't go," she whispered.

"What about Keith Urban?"

"No, we had to go out with Charlie's friends that night."

"Baby, they are your favorites. He couldn't make you the most important thing for just one night?"

She didn't say anything, and I could feel her cheeks pink up through the phone, so I had to keep talking.

"Remember when Dierks and Kip came last summer? How much fun we had?"

Truck tires on a gravel road

Laughing at the world, blasting my radio

Cannon ball splashing in the water

Doing whatever whenever you wanted

What did he do?

'Cause baby you don't sound like you anymore

Oh, anymore

" _Baby! Baby! Baby! Guess who's touring together this summer?! Guess! Guess! Guess!" Elizabeth screamed as she walked into my house and jumped into my arms and I wrapped mine around her to hold her up._

" _Who is it, Sweetheart?" I asked._

" _Dierks and Kip! Dierks and Kip! Dierks and Kip! Can we go? Please!" she begged as she clapped her hands like a child on her birthday. I smirked knowing they were her favorites. She burnt their albums up in the truck and preordered them months in advance. She told me she had already seen Dierks eight times and Kip six times, but I couldn't deny her anything._

" _Of course we can, baby. I'd do anything for you. Let me know when it is so I can take off work."_

" _It's June 10_ _th_ _."_

 _I loved taking her to concerts. The look on her face as she listened to the artists play and she sang along with every word was priceless. She was totally in her element and it was so obvious that she was there for the show and not to get fall-down drunk like other people. That wasn't to say she didn't have her share of beer at the shows, but she wanted to be coherent enough to actually enjoy the show._

 _Of course, she preordered these tickets to make sure we got the best seats, and on the day of the show, we were in the fourth center row._

 _When Kip came out on the stage singing "Crazy One More Time", Elizabeth was in a trance. She knew every word to every song and didn't sit down the entire time he was on the stage. It was the same way with Dierks, and I made sure to hold her close as we swayed to "Come a Little Closer."_

 _When the show was over, we made our way back to the truck and headed home. She blasted my radio all the way home with her Sounds of Summer playlist. I loved how she did silly "lyrical" dances, if you can call it that, as she sang along to all the songs. It was magical seeing her face light up like it did. I loved seeing her let go of all her inhibitions._

 _When we got home that night, it was the first time we made love._

That town, that job, that guy

You can leave them behind, girl, you know you're better than that

If you wanna come back, you can come back

"That was my favorite concert I'd ever been to," Elizabeth responded. "Both the show and the company were amazing. I want to go to more concerts. I haven't been to one since I left."

"Baby, we can go to any concert you want. Hamilton isn't for you. That school isn't for you. Charlie is not for you. Sweetheart, you know you're better than that. I'm the right man for you. Just please come home, Baby. You can have your job at the school back, your old house. You need to come home. I need you here," I begged her.

"I…I…but Charlie…my daddy…" she stuttered.

"Baby, I can deal with your daddy. I can prove to him that I'm good enough for you. You know Hope Valley is your home."

I could hear her breathing pick up. Then came the hiccups. It was coming. I knew it.

"I just don't know," she replied with tears in her voice. There they were. I had just about worn her down.

"Sweetheart, I'm here for you. We can do this together. You can come home, and we can be together, and face whatever we have to together. I'm not afraid of your daddy. I love you, Elizabeth."

"I…love…you…too," she choked out, but then she was gone. She had hung up the phone.

I stared at the phone, willing it to ring with her calling back, but after a few minutes of silence, I put my head in my hands, and I let out a few tears in response to this emotionally draining conversation. I didn't want my pizza anymore. I just wanted to sleep, so I turned the lights off and went to bed with Rip by my side.

Baby, come back to

Truck tires on a gravel road

Laughing at the world, blasting my radio

Cannon ball splashing in the water

Doing whatever whenever you wanted

What did he do?

'Cause you don't sound like you

Gimme the girl I knew

'Cause you don't sound like you anymore

A few days later, I was sitting on my front porch in the rocking chair when I noticed a gray Jeep coming down my gravel road. I didn't think anything of it until I saw the pink vanity plate attached to the front bearing the letters eTm. It was her!

She put the Jeep in park, and before she could open the door, I was yanking it open, and pulling her out of the car. I threw my arms around her, and she returned my hug.

"Sweetheart, you're here!"

"Yeah. I am, and I'm not going anywhere," she replied.

I took her face in my hands and pulled her lips to mine. I knew we had a lot to talk about, but that could wait. My Elizabeth was home, and she was here to stay, and I needed to kiss her lips right now. It had been six months since I had last felt them under my own.

Unwillingly, I broke away from her kiss and stared into her pretty blue eyes.

"What made you come back?" I asked her, not really caring what the reason was as long as she was back for good.

"I just couldn't live like that anymore. Hope Valley really changed me for the better. No one seemed to understand me there. Not even my mother and sisters. I should've never left to begin with. Please say you'll forgive me. I really need your forgiveness," she answered.

"Baby, we have a lot to talk about, but believe me, I forgive you. I know you left because you wanted to please your parents. I know it's hard, but you have to put your own happiness above anyone else's. Even mine. Is being here with me really what you want?" I asked her.

"I can say with absolute certainty this is what I want, Jack."

"Good because this is what I want. I have been a complete wreck without you. Nobody wanted to be around me for the longest time. They've been trying to get me out for so long, but I just couldn't do it," I told her.

"I am so sorry, Jack. You didn't have to put your life on hold for me. You should've moved on. Any other woman would be lucky to have you."

"No more apologies, baby. I don't want another woman. I want you. I want you forever," I replied trying to assuage her from those thoughts.

She thought about it for a few minutes, and then she looked at me and said, "I'm going to need a place to stay for a few days."

"Sweetheart, you can stay here as long as you want. I don't care how long you stay. You're finally home." And then I pressed my lips to hers as we stood in front of the sunset.

Girl, I'm glad you called

First heard you talk, took me a second

'Cause I couldn't hear your drawl


End file.
